N32 Providing sexual well-being support to patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: analyzing the practices of international nurses
S Wakai, M Tanaka, S Fourie, M Nozawa, A KawakamiAbstract
Background
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is often diagnosed in early adulthood and affects individuals’ sex life. People living with IBD report sexual dysfunction and reduced sexual satisfaction. While previous studies have demonstrated patients’ need for information about sexual health from healthcare providers, nurses’ practices for individuals’ sexual well-being (SWB) remain unclear. This study aimed to identify international nurses’ SWB support practices for patients with IBD.
Methods
This is an international qualitative study. Nurses with substantial experience in IBD nursing were recruited between May 2023 and October 2024 using a snowball sampling method, and online semi-structured and focus group interviews were conducted. After completing data coding, the results for each country were merged and analyzed as one dataset. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Results
A total of 29 nurses (male: 5; female: 24) from Japan, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Canada were interviewed, and the focus group interviews were conducted at two sites in Japan. The mean years of experience in IBD nursing were 13 years. The thematic analysis led to the overarching theme of ‘Careful exploration in real life practice’ with the identification of the following primary themes: ‘Building the foundation for SWB care’, ‘Addressing SWB issues as a team’, ‘Identifying SWB needs’, and ‘Providing personalized nursing support’. These themes reflected the lack of SWB education in the foundation of nursing training, resulting in nurses being unprepared and lacking confidence in providing support, and the ways that support is provided in practice in the absence of formal education to address SWB as a tailored practice. Nurses strive to support SWB among individuals with IBD despite the challenges they encounter and the reticence to initiate the conversation.
Conclusion
All nurses reported that SWB support for patients with IBD was provided after establishing trust and working together as a team to support them. In addition, as sexual concerns are highly individualized, the nurses assessed each person’s life events and situations of need and engaged in practices tailored to their concerns. This was done by creating an environment that encouraged individuals to share their thoughts. Cultural aspects that make discussing SWB difficult stem from a general view of sex as taboo; this was observed regardless of the participants’ geographical provenience. Finally, nurses’ training needs for SWB education are similar, regardless of the participants’ demographics.